Endodontics is the branch of dentistry concerned with tooth diseases. Tooth disease can affect a person's general health and, conversely, illness can cause dental problems. A common dental problem is tooth decay or cavities. Tooth decay is generally caused by acids secreted by bacteria that adhere to a tooth's surface in a film called dental plaque. The acids cause minerals in the tooth enamel to soften, allowing bacteria and food particles to enter the tooth. If left untreated, decay can eventually lead to loss of the entire tooth.
Periodontal diseases involve the gingiva, or gums, and underlying structures, and they usually affect adults. Improper dental hygiene and lack of professional care promote periodontal disease. Periodontitis is a bacterial inflammation at the base of the teeth including the ligament that holds the teeth to the bone and the bone itself. The main cause is the buildup of tartar, which irritates the gums and permits bacteria to become established. If untreated, the gums recede, the bone leeches away, and the teeth fall out. Periodontitis is the major cause of tooth loss in adults.
Prophylaxis, or prevention of tooth decay, involves thorough cleaning of the teeth by a dental hygienist. Abrasives and scraping tools are used to remove tartar and other material from the teeth. Tartar is formed from mineral salts that react with dental plaque and saliva to form crusty areas that cannot be removed by daily brushing. This buildup of tartar encourages tooth decay and irritates the gums.
A dental examination generally starts with X rays of the teeth. The X-rays are used by the dentist to detect decay or other problems, such as an impacted tooth. An impacted tooth is one that is unable to erupt normally through the gum. The condition of the gums and other soft tissue is also inspected, and previous dental work such as fillings, inlays, and bridges are examined for irregularities that need correcting.
When a tooth is found to have a cavity, the decay is removed with a high-speed drill. After decay removal, the cavity is filled. Usually the area where the work is to be done is numbed first with a local anesthetic such as Novocain or procaine, and sometimes the anesthetic gas nitrous oxide is used. The material used to fill the cavity may be an inert, nontoxic mixture of silver and mercury, or it may be gold, porcelain, or plastic. This is packed tightly into the cavity and the outer surface is smoothed.
When decay reaches the pulp of a tooth and inflames the nerve, causing pain and infection, root canal, or endodontic, treatment becomes necessary. The treatment procedure entails pulp removal from the tooth and replacement with metal, cement, or some other material A crown, gold inlay, or filling material is used to close the cavity. Crowns, or caps, cover the entire tooth. These are used when the enamel of a tooth has been removed. Crowns are made of porcelain, plastic, or gold.
The drilling, filling, packing and smoothing procedures require individual specialized tools and attachments. As a result the dentist may change tools and attachments often during a typical visit. As a result of the requirement for numerous individual tools and attachments, the dentist's office becomes cluttered with numerous tools. The dentist is forced to fumble for a specific tool, create extra space for a tool set up and maintain duplicate tools for each dentist chair used in the office and incur the expense of duplicate tools. In addition, the many dental tools may have different handles causing the dentist to tax his or her dexterity in different ways when using the different handles. As a result, a need has arisen for a dental tool with a single handle that can easily accommodate numerous dental attachments. The tool should be small enough to fit in a dentist's hand, have a precise shape so as to reach into the numerous crevices of the mouth, have a universal affixing system to securely hold small attachments in order to conserve office space, be useable in numerous offices, be cost effective, and have the structural integrity to allow the dentist to effectively use the variety of dental attachments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,410 discloses a dental tool holder including a variety of shock absorbing internal devices to reduce vibration of the tool during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,852 discloses an elongated hand piece assembly used with a dental laser for facilitating precisely aligned and controlled use of the laser during dental procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,358 discloses a dental tool having an opening at a front end for receiving an elongated abrasive dental attachment, wherein the attachment has a maximum diameter of less than 0.014 inches.
While all of the above identified U.S. patents disclose apparatus and methods which adequately perform the functions for which they were intended, none of them disclose an apparatus and method for easily, quickly and efficiently interchanging between dental attachments. Therefore, there is a need for a single tool which facilitates interchange between a plurality of dental attachments while providing the dentist with a familiar grip and shape.